To put it very simply and honestly, I hated high school. When asked to attend school sporting events and homecoming events, my neck crunched up into a double chin and my head immediately shook violently left and right. I always felt different than the kids who were overly excited for the Friday night football game or gabbing non-stop about whom they danced with at Saturday’s party. I wasn't whole heartedly interested in the popular scene or being apart of what was "happenin". My only real comfort at school was my routine. Getting up, going to my classes, eating lunch, and eventually catching the bus home to go do my homework. I had my best friends, I had my routine, and I was content. Outside of school I was outgoing and goofy, but if caught in the classroom, anyone would call me quiet, shy, and maybe even awkward. The only place in the high school that I could come out of my shell without my best friends around was in my advisory. My advisory was a safe haven for a group of diverse students. It was there that I learned how to be myself and feel appreciated for who I was, not only by the close knit group of students but also by my advisor, Mrs. Santagata.
Mrs. Santa cat, Mrs. Santogato, and “hey woman!” were all popular phrases to catch Mrs. Santagata’s attention. She was different than your average teacher. She combined the sarcastic humor most teens enjoy with the harsh comebacks that made us laugh and question ourselves at the same time. Her Cranston accent and frequent yelling made her feel more like our Italian mother than our student advisor. Every other Friday she’d come into advisory nearly tipping over with a box of bagels and cream cheese for us. Holidays? There would be a spread of cookies, hot chocolate, chips, and sodas for us to sit around and talk for the brief twenty minutes we spent together. She made those twenty minutes feel like home, creating a loving environment that we all wanted to be a part of. We all may have come from different cliques, but when we walked into Mrs. Santagata’s advisory every day, we were best friends.
Somehow I created an even stronger bond with Mrs. Santagata than the other students. Perhaps, it was because with the help of my best advisory buddy, Indera, I emerged from my shy restraints and proved to be quite weird. Advisory became my twenty minutes of back talk, silliness, and absolute absurdity. I felt comfortable to ask and say anything with Mrs. Santagata. She had true concern for her students and used her wisdom and knowledge wisely. Mrs. Santagata extended herself out of the classroom with me. For some unknown reason, she felt it necessary to go further, which I feel thankful for whenever I reflect on my high school years. She always kept me late, asking how I felt for the day, how my family was doing, or if I needed help with any of my assignments. I appreciated her. She did so much to make high school more than a boring institution. She was spunky and simultaneously philosophical in my eyes; a beautifully inspiring combination.
As cheesy, fake, or corny it may sound, Mrs. Santagata made me feel comfortable with who I was. I always knew my friends loved who I was, but I never realized that I had something worth paying attention to.She helped me unlock and release the traits I kept hidden, especially the ones I was the most self-conscious of. Most of the time I felt as if no one cared for what I had to say, or they didn’t like me for who I was. I came to realize that if I spoke up and stopped acting like I was an unopinionated idiot, that people might stop treating me as if I were one. In the last two years of high school, I frequently felt looser with myself. I focused on being unique and doing what I wanted, instead of simply following a routine and going with the motions.
My senior year floated around and it was finally time for us to graduate and leave. Mrs. Santagata offered her help to me with all of my college applications and edited my essays. Every twenty minutes a day that passed made all of us advisory 303 kids sad. We never wanted to leave this gracious, hilarious, and comforting woman. She was my second mother! My favorite part of every day! Unfortunately, graduation came quickly and severed our relationships very quickly as we all focused on our last summer in our hometown. Mrs. Santagata changed the way I expressed myself. She understood me, my dislike for the high school norm, and she went the extra mile to understand why. She taught me the most important part of being a successful adult: be comfortable and confident in who you are and you will succeed in every area you thought you would fail.
I came to college unafraid to say what needed to be said, unafraid to make new friends without holding back. The twenty-minute escapes from reality with Mrs. Santagata made the most impact on me and my experience in high school. It was her guidance and inability to judge me negatively that helped me learn to love who I was. Without her or my peers in that classroom, I do not think that socially or academically I would have succeeded as much as I have. I was blessed to have a special interaction with a teacher who influenced how I developed into a mature, confident adult. At the end of my high school career, the most impactful ideas and concepts I learned were about being a better person and questioning myself. All made possible by the boss herself, Mrs. Santagata.
Mrs. Santa cat, Mrs. Santogato, and “hey woman!” were all popular phrases to catch Mrs. Santagata’s attention. She was different than your average teacher. She combined the sarcastic humor most teens enjoy with the harsh comebacks that made us laugh and question ourselves at the same time. Her Cranston accent and frequent yelling made her feel more like our Italian mother than our student advisor. Every other Friday she’d come into advisory nearly tipping over with a box of bagels and cream cheese for us. Holidays? There would be a spread of cookies, hot chocolate, chips, and sodas for us to sit around and talk for the brief twenty minutes we spent together. She made those twenty minutes feel like home, creating a loving environment that we all wanted to be a part of. We all may have come from different cliques, but when we walked into Mrs. Santagata’s advisory every day, we were best friends.
Somehow I created an even stronger bond with Mrs. Santagata than the other students. Perhaps, it was because with the help of my best advisory buddy, Indera, I emerged from my shy restraints and proved to be quite weird. Advisory became my twenty minutes of back talk, silliness, and absolute absurdity. I felt comfortable to ask and say anything with Mrs. Santagata. She had true concern for her students and used her wisdom and knowledge wisely. Mrs. Santagata extended herself out of the classroom with me. For some unknown reason, she felt it necessary to go further, which I feel thankful for whenever I reflect on my high school years. She always kept me late, asking how I felt for the day, how my family was doing, or if I needed help with any of my assignments. I appreciated her. She did so much to make high school more than a boring institution. She was spunky and simultaneously philosophical in my eyes; a beautifully inspiring combination.
As cheesy, fake, or corny it may sound, Mrs. Santagata made me feel comfortable with who I was. I always knew my friends loved who I was, but I never realized that I had something worth paying attention to.She helped me unlock and release the traits I kept hidden, especially the ones I was the most self-conscious of. Most of the time I felt as if no one cared for what I had to say, or they didn’t like me for who I was. I came to realize that if I spoke up and stopped acting like I was an unopinionated idiot, that people might stop treating me as if I were one. In the last two years of high school, I frequently felt looser with myself. I focused on being unique and doing what I wanted, instead of simply following a routine and going with the motions.
My senior year floated around and it was finally time for us to graduate and leave. Mrs. Santagata offered her help to me with all of my college applications and edited my essays. Every twenty minutes a day that passed made all of us advisory 303 kids sad. We never wanted to leave this gracious, hilarious, and comforting woman. She was my second mother! My favorite part of every day! Unfortunately, graduation came quickly and severed our relationships very quickly as we all focused on our last summer in our hometown. Mrs. Santagata changed the way I expressed myself. She understood me, my dislike for the high school norm, and she went the extra mile to understand why. She taught me the most important part of being a successful adult: be comfortable and confident in who you are and you will succeed in every area you thought you would fail.
I came to college unafraid to say what needed to be said, unafraid to make new friends without holding back. The twenty-minute escapes from reality with Mrs. Santagata made the most impact on me and my experience in high school. It was her guidance and inability to judge me negatively that helped me learn to love who I was. Without her or my peers in that classroom, I do not think that socially or academically I would have succeeded as much as I have. I was blessed to have a special interaction with a teacher who influenced how I developed into a mature, confident adult. At the end of my high school career, the most impactful ideas and concepts I learned were about being a better person and questioning myself. All made possible by the boss herself, Mrs. Santagata.